PORT ST. LUCIE – One day after getting hit on the right hand with a pitch against the Tigers, Mets outfielder Lastings Milledge had X-rays taken yesterday. They were negative.

“I knew it wasn’t broken,” Milledge said, adding, “It’s just sore.”

Milledge was hit on Wednesday but didn’t have to leave the game. Yesterday, he said it needed to be “checked out” and admitted that it hurt “just a little bit more.” He did not play in the Mets’ 4-3 win over the Cardinals.

Milledge broke the hand in 2004 when he was hit by a pitch.

Jose Valentin (twisted right ankle) said yesterday he felt “way better” and might play today or tomorrow. He was not on today’s travel list to Jupiter, where the Mets will face the Cardinals again.

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The Mets earned their first spring win yesterday. Jose Reyes ripped a solo homer, and Carlos Beltran (RBI triple) and David Wright each had two hits. Anderson Hernandez had the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning.

Tom Glavine, in his first spring outing, started and threw two hitless innings, striking out one and saying he felt “good, surprisingly.”

“I wasn’t real sure what to expect based on maybe my not being comfortable with a couple BP sessions that I threw and that kind of stuff,” he said. “But once I got out there, everything seemed to be comfortable and it flowed nicely.”

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In evaluating the NL East, Cards manager Tony La Russa said yesterday he believes the Mets are the “team to beat,” though he called it a “really good division.” . . . Braden Looper, a former Mets closer, is slated to start today. La Russa said Cards pitching coach Dave Duncan believes Looper can be a starter. . . . Mets reliever Jorge Sosa gave up a pair of solo homers in his two innings yesterday, to Chris Duncan and Scott Spiezio. . . . In Baseball America’s top 100 prospects rankings, Mike Pelfrey is No. 20, Fernando Martinez is No. 22, Carlos Gomez is No. 60 and Philip Humber is No. 73.